RSSDI to host campaign on Insulin Injection Day

RSSDI Kolkata and the Forum for Injection Technique (FIT) India on Thursday announced an awareness campaign on Insulin Injection Day.

An invention by the Toronto General Hospital on Jan 11, 1922 changed the lives of millions living with Diabetes and revolutionized its management, particularly Type I diabetes.

Observing this innovation in India, RSSDI Kolkata and FIT India planned a campaign on Insulin Injection Day, organizing training workshops, plenary lectures on Insulin injection techniques for more than 100 nurses and diabetes educators in Kolkata later this week.

RSSDI Kolkata informed that in West Bengal, the prevalence of diabetes is between 3.5 percent - 5.7 percent with the districts Howrah (13.2%), Kolkata (12%) and Burdwan (8.7%) having the highest prevalence of the disease.

Subhankar Chowdhury, Head, Department of Endocrinology, IPGME&R and S.S.K.M. Hospital, Kolkata and FIT Advisory Member said, "Insulin remains a critical component of treatment of Diabetes, not only type I but also in many cases of Type II."

Chowdhury said, "At present injection remains the only practical means to deliver insulin. It is a welcome move that a day has been dedicated to deliberate on Insulin Injection by FIT. This should have a favorable impact on the acceptance of insulin injection among both physicians and patients."

According to the officials, counseling elderly or geriatric patients for self-injection can be a challenging task.

Unlike their younger peers, they may have certain age related potential difficulty in executing the instructions for injections properly, the officials warned.

The FIT recommendations suggest that physicians should not use age as an excuse to avoid usage of insulin, which can delay the treatment and result in further complications.

Along with insulin initiation for elderly patients, healthcare providers must ensure the involvement of responsible family members/attendants during the selection of insulin and explanation of injection technique, the officials said.

According to Apurba Mukherjee, Head, Department of Medicine, R.G.Kar Medical College & Hospital, and Chairman - RSSDI, West Bengal Chapter, "As per latest survey, more than 30 percent of diabetic patients in the city do not adhere to appropriate insulin treatment practices and 20 percent do not know about right injection techniques."

"As insulin treatment is vital for blood glucose control, inappropriate injection skills compromise the dosage accuracy and its effectiveness. Moreover, it may also lead to pain with bleeding and a risk of contamination," Mukherjee added.

He noted, "In the past year, FIT has launched the first ever India-specific clinical recommendations for appropriate insulin injection techniques with an aim to bring uniformity in insulin injection technique throughout the country and help impart the right education to both healthcare providers and people living with diabetes."

A scientific advisory board of well-known endocrinologists and diabetes experts compiled the FIT India recommendations based on clinical evidence, implications for patient therapy and the judgment of a group of experts in order to promote best practices in injection technique and bring uniformity in insulin injection technique diabetes patients and healthcare professionals.

According to Nilanjan Sengupta, Associate Professor & Head, Department of Endocrinology, N.R.S. Medical College & Hospital, "30 percent of people have psychological resistance to initiate insulin therapy despite it being indispensable for glycemic control to manage the disease."

Sengupta said, "The recommendations by FIT India have been immensely helpful in optimizing insulin injection technique for both healthcare workers and patients and have improved the overall acceptance of insulin delivery and injections."

Several factors, including the method of administration, dosing, compliance, selection of injection site, the depth of the injection, time lapse before withdrawing the needle and misconceptions about insulin therapy, influence the success of insulin injection therapy, the officials informed.

In November 2012 Forum for Injection Techniques (FIT India) and BD India had come together to launch the first Indian clinical recommendations for best practices in insulin injection techniques in India.